University of Michigan issues urgent password reset following cyberattack

The University of Michigan (UMICH) has issued a critical warning to its staff and students, urging them to reset their account passwords in the wake of a recent cyberattack.

Emails sent by UMICH’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Sol Bermann and Chief Information Officer (CIO) Ravi Pendse have emphasized the urgency of this security measure, with a deadline set for September 12. Failure to comply with this mandatory password reset will result in users being locked out of their accounts, necessitating a more complicated password recovery process.

In the emails sent to university community members, CISO Sol Bermann and CIO Ravi Pendse stated, "The University of Michigan requires all community members to change their UMICH password by the end of the day on Tuesday, September 12." This directive applies to individuals across UMICH’s Ann Arbor, Flint, Dearborn, and Michigan Medicine campuses.

The Information and Technology Services (ITS) Service Center also echoed the urgency of this action, warning, "If you do not change your password, you will not be able to use your UMICH password, including services that use the U-M Weblogin and U-M managed devices. Alumni, retirees, and other groups can change their passwords now, with additional information for these groups forthcoming."

To assist community members in creating secure passwords that meet the university’s complexity requirements, UMICH has advised referring to their password guidelines.

UMICH’s ITS Service Center has provided additional resources and contact information on the "Change Your UMICH Password" page for those encountering difficulties with the dedicated self-service password tool.

Furthermore, on Tuesday, users were alerted to potential performance issues when signing into their accounts or utilizing the account management app. UMICH’s IT teams have since addressed this issue.

The security warning comes on the heels of the University of Michigan’s disclosure on August 28, revealing that all its systems and services had been taken offline due to a cybersecurity incident. This precautionary measure was enacted to provide UMICH’s IT teams with a secure environment to address the issue. The systems and services impacted by the disconnection from the internet included wired and WiFi campus internet connectivity, M-Pathways, eResearch, DART, and all systems related to student registration processes.